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The likelihood of a new European league has increased in recent years as hockey federations in Russia and elsewhere in Europe have grown disenchanted with the NHL over its recruitment of their best players.

At the same time, Medvedev has ample dollars to start a competitor to the venerable NHL. In an interview from Russia, Medvedev confirmed that former Russian NHL star Igor Larionov and Goodenow are members of a so-called "working group" that's starting the league. Goodenow travelled to Moscow this week to discuss the prospective league, Larionov said.

Medvedev's representatives already have contacted broadcasters and sponsors, and could start the league as soon as September 2008, Larionov said. An executive with Finland's public broadcaster, YLE, confirmed he was approached several months ago about buying rights to televise the new league.

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Currently, top teams in Europe frequently lose players under contract to the NHL. In exchange, they get just $200,000 (U.S.) per player. The teams argue that's not enough and the debacle has prompted hockey federations in Russia and Sweden to sever ties to the NHL.

News of Goodenow's involvement is a surprising twist. He was sacked by the NHL Players' Association two years ago after players insisted on signing a new labour contract with the NHL.

It's unclear whether the league – which Medvedev said could formally be announced as soon as today – would honour NHL contracts.

Either way, Gazprom's money would be key in recruiting top talent. While it may not be known across North America, Gazprom is an energy juggernaut and provides roughly one-quarter of the natural gas for Europe. Its market capitalization rivals that of General Electric Co. and Microsoft.

Before the 2006-07 season, Gazprom bought a controlling stake in the SKA St. Petersburg club. Medvedev is its president.

The Russian magazine Argumenti i Fakti reported the team doubled its budget to as much as $20 million. Former Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Barry Smith now coaches St. Petersburg.

Medvedev said the new league would probably start with teams in Western Russian cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, and could also feature clubs in cities such as Kiev, Ukraine; Riga, Latvia; and Astana, Kazakhstan.

"We'll also welcome teams that might apply from Western Europe if they meet certain financial requirements," Medvedev said.

Jokerit, one of the most popular teams in Finland's elite league, would be a candidate to join, its owner said, even if it meant abandoning its domestic league.

Harry Harkimo, who also owns Jokerit's 13,464-seat arena in Helsinki, said his team would probably break even this year, even though it has more than 30 sponsors, plays in the largest arena in Finland, and receives several million dollars from broadcast contracts.

"A new league could mean more broadcast and sponsorship revenue," he said.

This doesn't mark the first time the NHL has faced an upstart competitor. In 1972, the World Hockey Association in eight months grew from an idea on paper into a palpable threat to the NHL. Bobby Hull, who made $100,000 a year with the Chicago Black Hawks, joined the WHA's team in Winnipeg for $1 million over five years. Seven years on, the WHA folded when the NHL agreed to accept four WHA clubs as expansion teams.

Bill Daly, the NHL's deputy commissioner, said of the league: "We wish them luck with what appears to be a very ambitious project."

A new European league may leave the NHL open to criticism from those who contend the NHL has spent too much time trying to foster growth in struggling non-traditional markets such as Nashville while not doing enough to bolster its profile and revenues overseas.

Anton Thun, a Toronto-area player agent, said the league's international marketing efforts to this point have been "negligible."

"They may have held a few one-off games in London or Tokyo, but what does that do in the long run?" Thun asked rhetorically.

Even if players do make more money in a new European league, they could face a culture shock, said Canadian goalie Michael Garnett. After playing 24 games for the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers in 2005-06, Garnett is in his first season in Russia, playing in Nizhnekamsk, 800 kilometres east of Moscow.

"The hockey's very good but it's actually very militarylike," said Garnett, who makes about $330,000 tax free. "We have to go and sleep in barracks the night before games. It's like boarding school or a work camp."

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